Edirol R-4 battery life

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nyquist-x

Active member
Hi Guys!

I´ll be recording a shortfilm on friday/sat with the Edirol R-4 running a MKH60 boomed, 2 G3 systems and 1 G2. I´m quite worried about the battery life, I read that it last 2.5 hours with the 8 AAA batteries, can someone confirm if this time is using 4 channels?

Do you know a better way to power this device?

Best Regards.
Fernando
 
nyquist-x said:
Do you know a better way to power this device?
Click to expand...

I have a Tascam HD-P2 which lasts about 4 hours recording to it's 2 channels with the 8AA batteries.

One of the best buying decisions I've made in my gear was to get a NP1 NP70 + HawkWoods power adapter.

I feed all my audio gear (which most of the times is my Tascam with phantom on + SD mixer), for about 25 hrs straight!

Hope that helps
 
Professionals always take at least ONE extra set of batteries for EVERYTHING. AA cells aren't that expensive when you buy a package at the big-box warehouse store. I would not plan on using a set for more than 2 hours to be safe.
 
I have the R-4 Pro and recording 24 bit, 4 channels that's about right. I think the newer R-44 does better as it has no hard drive, and only uses 4 AA. It's best to find power if possible.
 
Thanks for the info, do you know any way to power the unit with some batterypack or something similar like the NP70?
 
I don't know. Just google that. There are plenty of battery packs. They don't need to be specific to the recorder, just to the power type.
 
get yourself an np1 setup. i believe that the r-4 has a 4 pin xlr power connector?

np1 cup w/ 4pin xlr cable, $60
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...dio_NPADWX4_NP_1_Adapter_with_Connection.html

2 NP1 batteries and charger, $463(out of stock tho, just an idea)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/483426-REG/VariZoom_KL5N_KL_5N_Battery_and_Charger.html

or, you could get a bescor battery belt with 4 pin xlr out, which isn't the lightest in the world but would power it for a good while.

i use np1's with my PSC mixer and it also powers my fostex fr2le recorder and wireless RX'ers. my batteries are kind of old and are not lithium ions and i get about a production day per battery when using recorder and phantom power.
 
manglerBMX said:
i believe that the r-4 has a 4 pin xlr power connector?
Click to expand...

I thinkt that the R4 version doesn´t have that.. the R-4 Pro does.

The BSD look very nice indeed, the only problem is that i don´t know if they´ve a cable for standar AC adaptors (like R4 for example).

Do you know any good place to purchase NP batteries? Do you recommend to purchase them used?

Thanks for all the info!
 
any major camera or sound retailer retailer that carries pro gear will have np1 batteries.

best bet is to call up trew, coffey, gotham, any of the major sound retailers and see if they have, if not, they can make you a cable to power your r-4. i see you are in argentina and i don't know jack about what your pro audio scene is like. so you may have to order from the US if you do need a custom cable.
 
I'm not sure they even sell the R-4 any more. The R-44 is a better sounding unit with the same pres as the R-4 Pro, and for about 100.00 more you can get one with the Oade Brother's mod that makes the preamps dead silent. The R-44 uses DC IN 9-16V/1.5A in the regular little connector, not a 4pin. The R-44 has combo jacks too, and you can link 2 together for 8 tracks. If you don't need timecode the R-44 is the unit to get.
 
manglerBMX said:
any major camera or sound retailer retailer that carries pro gear will have np1 batteries.

best bet is to call up trew, coffey, gotham, any of the major sound retailers and see if they have, if not, they can make you a cable to power your r-4. i see you are in argentina and i don't know jack about what your pro audio scene is like. so you may have to order from the US if you do need a custom cable.
Click to expand...

The scene here is dead :cry: There are no good retailers and the prices are really high, so I guess I will´ve to order from some US store.

I'm not sure they even sell the R-4 any more. The R-44 is a better sounding unit with the same pres as the R-4 Pro, and for about 100.00 more you can get one with the Oade Brother's mod that makes the preamps dead silent. The R-44 uses DC IN 9-16V/1.5A in the regular little connector, not a 4pin. The R-44 has combo jacks too, and you can link 2 together for 8 tracks. If you don't need timecode the R-44 is the unit to get.
Click to expand...
This R4 it´s a rented gear, I know that it has a while around the market, but we need a 4 track recorder and the budget doesn´t allow us to go for a 744.

The R-44 looks pretty nice indeed, more if you could chain two for 8trk. :2vrolijk_08:

Thank you all for your toughs!
Fernando
 
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